Byers, 42, who worked for the Department of Human Services, left a 3-year-old daughter. His mother, Benita Woods, is still in grief. His step-father, Larry Woods, has now buried a son and stepson because of shootings.

The parents sat in the front of the courtroom gallery, holding close. She wept softly through the hearing.

Davis’ family hurt, too. The judge received numerous letters of support for her as well as Byers.

Sullivan said he didn’t view Davis, 25, as a “bad person. But, you did make some serious mistakes here, and you do have to pay for those mistakes.”

Davis had illegally obtained a handgun in response to unrelated threats, and had been drinking the night before the shooting as she mourned the death of her great-grandmother.

She was carrying the firearm on Feb. 21 when her brother, Jountay Davis, 21, got into a heated argument with Byers after a minor crash on Lafayette Street SE.

She maintained she was protecting her brother when Byers was shot. She and her brother sped away in a borrowed Lincoln Navigator.

“There’s no question in my mind the use of alcohol was a factor in why this happened. You’re the one that got the gun. You’re the one that drank the alcohol.”

The judge noted that Byers was shot near his car, not her brother’s, which suggested her brother was the aggressor.

“This was a minor, minor, traffic accident,” Sullivan said. “Nothing should have happened after that accident.”

Sullivan said he thought of everyone involved. The biggest loss might be to Byer’s daughter, Emma.

“Frankly, I think mostly of his young child. The young child of Mr. Byers will be living with that issue for forever.”

Kelli Kopen, the mother of Byers’ daughter, said after the hearing that she was satisfied with the sentence.

She believed that Davis’ apology was sincere, but said it doesn’t lessen her responsibility for taking a life.

The punishment does little to help Kopen or her daughter heal emotionally, she said.

“(Emma) is doing OK. She definitely misses her dad. I think it’s going to be a struggle for her,” she said.

She said his DHS co-workers have raised funds to help with Emma’s education.

“I think the day of Feb. 21 is probably going to be remembered every year at the DHS,” she said.

Defense attorney James Milanowski said his client said “she didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”

“This is just a tragic, tragic incident that none of the parties involved could possibly foresee … to the point Mr. Byers lost his life. (Davis is) extremely sorry, remorseful and sympathetic to the family. … She knows that there’s nothing she can do to relieve the pain, the suffering. If there was something, she would do it.”

The first time he met Davis, before her arrest, she asked to pray with him, he recalled.

Davis was sentenced to 20 to 35 years in prison for second-degree murder. It runs consecutive to a two-year sentence for felonious use of a firearm.

The judge said the sentence was in the mid to high range under state sentencing guidelines, but noted that Davis will likely leave state custody at some point.

Her brother was cleared at trial of being an accessory after the fact.